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  #1  
Old Posted May 26, 2010, 1:45 PM
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Calgary Top Eco-City on the Planet

According to Mercer's quality of living survey;

Eco-City Ranking 2010 includes the following criteria: Water availability, water potability, waste removal, sewage, air pollution and traffic congestion.

http://www.mercer.com/qualityoflivin...ing_Eco_Cities

1 CALGARY CANADA 145.7
2 HONOLULU UNITED STATES 145.1
3 OTTAWA CANADA 139.9
3 HELSINKI FINLAND 139.9
5 WELLINGTON NEW ZEALAND 138.9
6 MINNEAPOLIS UNITED STATES 137.8
7 ADELAIDE AUSTRALIA 137.5
8 COPENHAGEN DENMARK 137.4
9 KOBE JAPAN 135.6
9 OSLO NORWAY 135.6
9 STOCKHOLM SWEDEN 135.6
12 PERTH AUSTRALIA 135.3
13 MONTREAL CANADA 133.6
13 VANCOUVER CANADA 133.6
13 NURNBERG GERMANY 133.6
13 AUCKLAND NEW ZEALAND 133.6
13 BERN SWITZERLAND 133.6
13 PITTSBURGH UNITED STATES 133.6
19 ZURICH SWITZERLAND 133.5
19 ABERDEEN UNITED KINGDOM 133.5
21 CANBERRA AUSTRALIA 133.3
22 SINGAPORE SINGAPORE 132.4
23 BRISBANE AUSTRALIA 131.6
23 WASHINGTON UNITED STATES 131.6
25 MELBOURNE AUSTRALIA 131.5
25 GENEVA SWITZERLAND 131.5
25 BOSTON UNITED STATES 131.5
28 DUSSELDORF GERMANY 130.7
28 MUNICH GERMANY 130.7
30 CAPE TOWN SOUTH AFRICA 129.4
30 BELFAST UNITED KINGDOM 129.4
32 LYON FRANCE 129.3
33 DUBLIN IRELAND 128.9
34 HAMBURG GERMANY 128.8
34 STUTTGART GERMANY 128.8
34 PHILADELPHIA UNITED STATES 128.8
37 YOKOHAMA JAPAN 128.7
38 VICTORIA SEYCHELLES 128.5
39 TORONTO CANADA 127.1
39 AMSTERDAM NETHERLANDS 127.1
41 BRUSSELS BELGIUM 126.8
41 LEIPZIG GERMANY 126.8
43 ST. LOUIS UNITED STATES 126.6
44 VIENNA AUSTRIA 126.2
44 LUXEMBOURG LUXEMBOURG 126.2
46 SYDNEY AUSTRALIA 125
47 GLASGOW UNITED KINGDOM 124.7
48 MUSCAT OMAN 124.2
49 POINTE-A-PITRE GUADELOUPE 123.8
50 NAGOYA JAPAN 123.1
50 OSAKA JAPAN 123.1
50 FRANKFURT GERMANY 123.1
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  #2  
Old Posted May 26, 2010, 1:51 PM
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Interesting, never really thought of Calgary as an Eco-City. I'd hate to see the argument that would ensue if this were re-posted in the Canada thread.
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  #3  
Old Posted May 26, 2010, 2:36 PM
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I'm guessing we rank #1 due to our water and sewer treatment mainly.
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  #4  
Old Posted May 26, 2010, 2:45 PM
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If those are indeed all the factors, I would imagine Calgary doing pretty well in all 6 areas. Even traffic congestion, which I know Calgarians like tho think is Armageddon level, is peanuts compared to most cities around the world.

Not sure it should be limited to just those factors though when doing something like this. When you throw around words like "Eco City", it's really hard to ignore the realities of Calgary's sprawl and the lifestyle it promotes.
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  #5  
Old Posted May 26, 2010, 2:45 PM
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Water and sewage certainly would have a big impact on the ranking.
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Old Posted May 26, 2010, 3:12 PM
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Swimming/fishing in the Bow (unheard of in any major city that I've ever been to), our complete lack of traffic jams as alluded to above, mostly air pollution free thanks to the strong winds here and rather small industrial presence... yeah, I can easily see it.

Plus, our sprawl is much better contained than most cities. We don't really have many bedroom communities.

Yeah, from a tree-hugger perspective we may not be "eco", but then again, no city is.
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  #7  
Old Posted May 26, 2010, 3:38 PM
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This definitely does not apply to our built form...but I agree with regards to water and waste management.
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  #8  
Old Posted May 26, 2010, 3:39 PM
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How cold is that Bow water anyway? I've actually never swam, fished, or rafted on the thing.
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  #9  
Old Posted May 26, 2010, 3:54 PM
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On a related note, did anyone read this thread on Canada's smartest cities? Calgary fared quite well on that list, and also did well on the other lists as well (Most Active, Most Cultured, Most Socially Engaged, and Most Wired lists.)
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  #10  
Old Posted May 26, 2010, 4:24 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CorporateWhore View Post
How cold is that Bow water anyway? I've actually never swam, fished, or rafted on the thing.
It needs to be a pretty warm day out for it to be tolerable as it isn't by any means 'warm'. But if it's warm enough outside, it can feel refreshing.
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  #11  
Old Posted May 26, 2010, 4:41 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CorporateWhore View Post
How cold is that Bow water anyway? I've actually never swam, fished, or rafted on the thing.
Warm enough by mid July. No, you won't be sitting in it like you would in a hot tub, but jumping off a raft and paddling around for a bit? Plenty warm.

Then again, I grew up swimming in spring-fed lakes so 15-20 degree water doesn't seem all that bad to me.

It's VERY refreshing on those rare 30C and sunny days.
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  #12  
Old Posted May 26, 2010, 5:03 PM
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The Bow is great in July and August on a hot day, perfectly comfortable for swimming.
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  #13  
Old Posted May 26, 2010, 5:05 PM
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How come no one mentioned transit, biking and walking.....that reduces traffic congestion by HUGE numbers.
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  #14  
Old Posted May 26, 2010, 5:23 PM
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How come no one mentioned transit, biking and walking.....that reduces traffic congestion by HUGE numbers.
Transit on the C-Train, sure, but my gut says that Calgary doesn't have that many bicyclers/walkers. At least not in terms of actually reducing traffic. Tons of people do it recreationally but to get to work? I'd imagine other (especially warmer) cities would beat us on that easily.

However the story doesn't really dive into WHY there's no congestion, just that there is.
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  #15  
Old Posted May 26, 2010, 5:38 PM
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In 2006:

31,755 Calgarians walked to work. Over 1/3 the number that take transit to work (91,370). So it is a significant number. I'd imagine many of these trips are from very central neighbourhoods like Beltline, Mission, Sunnyside etc. Cyclist commuters: 7,560.

http://www40.statcan.ca/l01/cst01/labr88f-eng.htm
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Old Posted May 26, 2010, 6:23 PM
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Kind of a misnomer. While we have great water potability and sewage treatment, we are also an ecological disaster. "Eco-City" gives me the impression of most environmentally friendly city, which I really doubt we are. And I question a lot of the methodolgy. Is air pollution rated on a parts per million of VOCs and the like, or is it measured as a per capita emission? If it is the former, the rating punishes dense cities, which are much more ecologically friendly than those who aren't.

As a side note- traffic congestion is a good thing. Why they included it as a measure of "Eco-City" I have no idea. It is why New Yorkers have the lowest carbon footprint and lowest energy consumption per capita than any other city in North America. Traffic congestion causes people to walk and take transit. For reference: The Green Metropolis by David Owen
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  #17  
Old Posted May 26, 2010, 6:39 PM
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Originally Posted by fusili View Post
Kind of a misnomer. While we have great water potability and sewage treatment, we are also an ecological disaster. "Eco-City" gives me the impression of most environmentally friendly city, which I really doubt we are. And I question a lot of the methodolgy. Is air pollution rated on a parts per million of VOCs and the like, or is it measured as a per capita emission? If it is the former, the rating punishes dense cities, which are much more ecologically friendly than those who aren't.

As a side note- traffic congestion is a good thing. Why they included it as a measure of "Eco-City" I have no idea. It is why New Yorkers have the lowest carbon footprint and lowest energy consumption per capita than any other city in North America. Traffic congestion causes people to walk and take transit. For reference: The Green Metropolis by David Owen
They seem to be measuring "how healthy it is to live in the city", not theoretical/ideological goals.

I understand what you're saying, but of course air pollution measures will punish dense cities. They generally have much worse air pollution! In terms of what it's like to breathe the air, anyway. I know I'm a radical, but I'll take massive carbon pollution over particulates/sulfates/nitrates any day.

On a per-capita basis I bet China is far less polluting than Canada, but I've seen pictures of the air in Beijing and you couldn't pay me to live there.

And traffic congestion? A major, major source of air pollution. All those idling vehicles spewing crap into the air needlessly. It may be a driver towards positive changes, but the congestion itself just plain sucks.
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  #18  
Old Posted May 26, 2010, 7:08 PM
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Mercer has rebranded it's "cleanest city in the world" report as top eco-city. The cleanest city report has been posted here numerous times over the years and Calgary has been in the number one spot for the past 4(5?) years, predominantly due to the impact of waste reduction, water treatment and the overall impact it's infrastructure has on the environment.

I know that everyone loves to dump on the built form of Calgary (I.e. the sprawl) and how bad it is and how much better city X is, but the fact remains that maybe cities like Toronto and Vancouver have more density and less auto use in their cores, it is undeniable that their overall impact on the planet is greater due to things like dumping shit water into a nearby lake and millions of pounds of pollution into the air every year due to the absolute number of vehicles.

Is Calgary perfect? Hell no! But as imperfect as it is, it's still squeaky clean!
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Old Posted May 26, 2010, 7:20 PM
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Interesting results. Pretty much the same as other Mercer reports in the past. Last year , I think we were tied with Honolulu.

The word 'Eco' in this survey is a bit misleading I agree. Calgary inherits great water and air quality from mother nature. We've spent alot on our sewage treatment, so we deserve kudos for that.
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  #20  
Old Posted May 26, 2010, 7:22 PM
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Originally Posted by fusili View Post
Kind of a misnomer ... we are also an ecological disaster.
Don't mean to nitpik, but from the environmental perspective, every city is an ecological disaster as every city has displaced the natural flora and fauna. I don't wish to fixate on idealogy, however every alteration of the landscape by man destroys the ecology that was there prior. While some things may be more benign than others, in absolute terms Gia gets it every time.


Quote:
Originally Posted by fusili View Post
It is why New Yorkers have the lowest carbon footprint and lowest energy consumption per capita than any other city in North America. Traffic congestion causes people to walk and take transit. For reference: The Green Metropolis by David Owen
The problem with stats is that they can say whatever you want. When calculating this measure, did they include GHG emissions that resulted from the construction of a refinery in Houston that was funded by investment bankers in NY? Or perhaps the oil used to catch the fish that was then flown by airplane from Chile and served in a resto in NY? And where are the GHG emissions attributed to the banker who lives in NY M-F but spends the weekends on his boat in the Hamptons? Finally, how large is the carbon footprint required to address the fact that NY only does primary treatment on its sewage before dumping it into the ocean?

Dont' mean to focus on you specifically, but these reports are often difficult to review in isolation and without full context.

(BTW, I do love NY and dense cities, but I don't automatically subscribe to the theory that density is best by itself)

NOTE: In response to the Green Metropolis (which I enjoyed) I throw out Radical Simplicity as a means to sustainability that focuses on a low density approach.
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